Sweet Memories
by Redvelvetunicorns
Summary: Daryl and Carol were childhood best friends who grew apart in their early teenage years, will the be able to re-establish the connection they once had? High School AU Rated M for language and eventual smut (probably)
1. Chapter 1

" _I'm telling you Daryl it's not here!" Carol wailed as she ran to catch up with her friend, they had been playing in the woods at the back of both of their houses._

" _It is I know it we're gonna find it! Merle says he saw it jus' yesterday when he was huntin', that means it's gotta still be around here somewhere!" The previous evening as Daryl's mother got ready to tuck him into bed, he decided that he wanted his older brother to tell him a bed time story, Merle had told him about his hunt earlier that day, claiming to have come face to face with a chupacabra. Daryl listened in admiration as his brother bragged about fighting off the creature with his bare hands._

 _Daryl had always been fascinated with what resided in the forest next to their home, he had only ever been able to catch small animals like rabbits and squirrels and had even spotted a deer a couple of times. Merle finished his story, tucked him in and turned off his bedroom light, but Daryl felt wide awake. All he could think about was finding the chupacabra._

 _The next morning he was up early, bouncing with excitement and begging his mother to let him go out and play. As soon as she had given him the go ahead he had raced next door to get Carol, telling her that they were going on a super exciting mission._

 _Carol was his best and only friend in the whole world, Daryl adored her. They didn't need other friends when they had each other, all of the other children at their school had been wary of Daryl, told by their parents not to associate with the Dixon boy. Daryl's father was well known in their small town, he had been a mean, abusive drunk, causing a scene wherever he went. He was gone now though, eventually Daryl's mother has stood her ground and kicked him out of their lives. He hadn't made much of a fuss, he didn't love them anyway, packing his things and disappearing without a trace. It had been almost a year now but the town still remembered, still shunned the Dixons. It didn't matter that Daryl was only a child, that Merle was just a teenager or that their mother worked multiple jobs at all hours of the day to try and provide the best life for her babies. His father had ruined the name and all their reputations._

 _Carol had never cared what people thought, never failing to stick up for Daryl when anyone said something mean to him, he was always surprised by how fierce his little friend could be. He vowed he would love her for the rest of his life._

" _Daryl I don't know if I even wanna find it! They sound scary, aren't they supposed to drink your blood like a big vampire dog or somethin'?"_

" _Listen ta me, I ain't gonna let nothin happen to ya. I promise. You know that right?" He held out his hand to her, squeezing reassuringly when she took it in her own._

" _Yeah I know," she smiled sweetly at him, she always trusted him._

" _Now come on, we probably only got a few more hours til our mamas shout us back," and with that they continued on their quest to hunt down the chupacabra…_

"Carol!" The shrill sound of her mother shouting her name pulled her from her deep, dreamless sleep. "Carol! Are you not awake yet? You're going to be late for school!"

She turned over and blinked hazily at her alarm clock reading 07:15. _Shit!_ How had she slept in so late? She flung the covers off and raced to get ready, she threw on some clothes and tried to tame the tangle of curls that just weren't cooperating. She quickly kissed her parents goodbye and sprinted out the front door to the bus stop. She ran and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her lungs were burning and she felt like she was going to pass out. She was so close, as she rounded the corner she saw the bus just pulling away, too far for her to catch up.

"Son of a bitch!" She screamed keeling over, trying desperately to get the air back into her lungs, her face was on fire and she seriously sweating, as if she didn't feel gross enough this morning.

She made her way back home, hoping that maybe one of her parents were still home. Her mother was just locking the front door as she strolled up the driveway.

"Oh thank god please, please can you take me to school? I missed the bus," she pleaded.

"Carol I can't I'm running late myself! Do you know how many orders I have to fulfil at the bakery today? I'm going to be there all day you'll just have to walk."

"Walk? But it's miles away, what about dad?"

"He's already left, it's your own fault for not getting up earlier!" Carol scowled as her mother pecked her on the cheek and climbed into her car, waving as she backed out the driveway.

Carol sighed and hung her head, mentally preparing herself for the long morning ahead when she was pulled from her thoughts by a deep, gravelly voice.

"Ya need a ride?"

She turned on her heels to find Daryl Dixon stood behind her, climbing onto his motorcycle and offering her his spare helmet. They had not spoken properly in a few years now, growing apart in the later years of middle school. She had gained more and more popular as they had gotten older whilst Daryl shunned anyone that had tried to befriend him, so used to people being afraid of him. Carol had encouraged him to hang out with her and her new group of friends but Daryl had declined, social interactions had never been his strong point and he figured they never would be.

He had been hurt that she was becoming so close to their new classmates, he knew it was irrational, she could hang out with whoever she wanted. But part of him had always thought it would be just the two of them. They drifted further apart bit by bit until she had given up trying all together. She figured that if he really wanted to save their friendship he would eventually come to his senses and make the effort. But he didn't.

She missed him terribly, everyday she still did. She kept all of the photos of their childhood, and all the souvenirs from their little adventures in the woods. It broke her heart when she looked back through them and reminisced. She watched him from her bedroom window a lot, just working on bike in the driveway or sitting on the porch with a cigarette. She always longed to join him but she didn't know how to talk to him anymore.

"On the bike? I've never been on one before," she took the helmet from his hands nervously.

He huffed out a quiet laugh, "Yeah I know."

"That was something we were gonna learn together remember," she smiled at him brightly as she remembered their plan. They used to spend hours and hours in awe over Merle's Triumph as it sat on the driveway, sitting on the bike and pretending they were riding across the world. They had agreed that when they were old enough to learn that they would and take the bike on some real adventures together.

"Yeah I know," a sadness now laced his tone. "Promise you won't fall off, I'm pretty good." He could see her hesitation.

She beamed at him and climbed on the bike behind him, her stomach riddled with butterflies being this close to him again. He grabbed her hands from his shoulders and adjusted them so they wrapped tightly around his waist. She squeaked as he grabbed her thighs and yanked her so that her body was flush with his.

"Hold on tight," he drawled, speeding out of his driveway, his heart racing slightly at the warmth of her body locked around his.


	2. Chapter 2

When they pulled into the school parking lot Carol's muscles were aching from how tightly she had wrapped herself around him. They may have talked about riding motorcycles all the time when they were kids but she was still terrified when Daryl sped off out of his driveway. He touched her hands gently, nudging her to unclench her fingers that were fisted tightly in the front of his shirt. One hand had made its way underneath, her nails leaving crescent shaped indents where they were biting into his skin. She hadn't even realised until now, he was like a furnace under her palm and she could feel the light smattering of hair that started at his belly button leading down below his waistband. Suddenly flustered she pulled her hands away and uncurled herself from his body, steadying herself as she tried to hide how unstable her legs were. Daryl winced as he pulled up his shirt to examine the damage her nails had done.

"Sorry," she cringed, her expression one of guilt. She took a step closer to tenderly touch the scratches.

"S'alright," he replied, he thought it was cute how nervous she was. "Had a lot worse."

"Yeah, I know you have." Sadness washed over her as she remembered all the times she had tried to soothe his pain when they were younger, his father had a tendency to take his anger out on his family. He knew what memories his words had brought back to her, the silence hanging heavily in the air between them. Clearing his throat he tried to think of a way to lift the sullen mood. He pulled her hand away from where she was still tracing her fingers over his stomach, she must've noticed the goosebumps she had caused to erupt across his skin.

"Never understood why you always get the bus. You coulda just asked me for a ride you know?"

She sighed unsure how to respond, she had thought he no longer wanted anything to do with her.

"You wanna ride home?" He really hoped she accepted, having her so close to him had made him realise how much he missed her.

"I actually have dance class so no it's cool. Tomorrow morning though?"

His heart fluttered slightly at the chance to spend more time with her. "Yeah sure, same time as today."

She nodded as she turned to head to her first class, any longer and she'd be late for sure. "See you then!"

Carol couldn't concentrate, her whole morning had been spent daydreaming about her former best friend. The way his body had felt wrapped in her arms, the muscles of his stomach flexing under her palms. Daryl had grown up to be gorgeous, she couldn't deny it. There were plenty of girls at school who thought so, most being too afraid of his reputation and 'don't fuck with me' vibe to actually approach him, the ones who were brave enough had all been turned down as far as she knew, she suspected Merle had probably set him up with some of the younger women in his crowd. They may not have been close anymore but there were countless times she had watched him from her window or across the classroom with lustful thoughts running through her mind.

Her fantasies were interrupted by a swift kick in the shin, she snapped her head round to meet the curious eyes of her friend Michonne.

"Ow!" She hissed, Michonne only responded by nodding in the direction of their teacher who was frowning at Carol as he waited for her response to his question, all the eyes in the room on her.

"I expect more from you Carol, I suggest you focus and stop daydreaming." He scolded before passing the question to one of her classmates.

She looked towards the front of the room where her other friend Tara was snickering to herself, she had been moved away from Carol and Michonne for talking and disrupting the class too much. She sighed heavily and tried to shake the beautiful, brooding boy from her thoughts.

Daryl hadn't been much better all day, luckily for him no one particularly expected him to participate in discussions. He arrived home to the welcoming scent of his mother's cooking, making his way into the kitchen he found her leaning on the counter reading a magazine while she waited for their dinner to be ready.

"Hey baby," she smiled as she saw him strolling in, kicking off his boots and dumping his bag by the back door.

"Hey," He said softly as he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. She couldn't help but notice the unusual smile that was plastered on her son's face.

"You must've had a good day?" She questioned, she knew exactly what had him in this mood.

"Uh, s'ok I guess." He never had been one for sharing his feelings.

"Was that Carol Miller climbing onto the back of your bike this morning?" She watched him as he stopped rummaging around in the fridge and stood up straight to look at her, his eyes dropped down to look at his feet shyly as he tried and failed to stop his smile growing wider.

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"I knew you always had a thing for her!" She squealed in delight. "You never did tell me what happened with you two."

"There's no 'thing'" Daryl scoffed. "Just drifted apart is all. Happens all the time."

"I thought you'd grow up to marry her."

"Stop."

"I'm serious! You were inseparable. Merle always said so too y'know"

He rolled his eyes and ducked his head to try and hide the blush that was threatening to creep to his cheeks, turning swiftly he headed towards the stairs to hide in his room.

"Hey dinner's in fifteen minutes! Don't go disappearing!"

"'Kay!" was all he yelled back as he flopped face first onto his bed and buried his face in the pillows. He covered his face and thought back to this morning, her warm hands resting over his belly, her nails biting into his skin, her thighs clamped around him in a death grip. The way her eyes sparkled when she flashed him that wonderful smile he loved and the way her curls bounced as she walked away from him, the captivating sway of her hips.

 _Fuck._ He couldn't wait for it to be morning again. He vowed to himself that if this was his second chance at his friendship with her, _maybe something more,_ he would not fuck it all up again.


	3. Chapter 3

***I altered a few things very slightly in chapter 1 because they didn't add up with some things I wrote in chapter 2, only very minor details but I noticed them as I read both chapters back.**

 **I still only have a vague idea where I'm going with this story as a whole but for the most part I'm sort of just winging it**

 **This is just a filler chapter to set up something nice in the next**

 **Thank you so much to those who took the time to review this, it always makes my day hearing what you think! Xox***

Carol had been looking forward to the extra time she would be able to have in bed but it seemed her body had other ideas. She was awake at the crack of dawn, her stomach full of butterflies, eager to be close to him again. She wondered if this would lead to being friends again, really being friends again, not just acquaintances who rode to school and back together. Did he feel the same way? Of course he didn't, he wouldn't have stopped speaking to her in the first place if he did. She eventually gave up tossing and turning and got ready for school. She was sat at the kitchen island practically burning a hole through the large clock hanging on the wall, they had agreed to leave at 07:45, it had been 07:30 for what felt like an eternity now.

At that moment her mother came into the kitchen chasing her younger sister Sophia who was being rather uncooperative in getting ready for school that morning, her father strolling in behind them.

"Carol!" She shrieked. "What are you still doing here? Do not tell me you have missed your bus again!"

"Uh no, I'm gonna start getting rides from Daryl instead."

Her parents both stopped what they were doing to give each other a look of surprise, their eyebrows raised high. Her father broke the brief silence by announcing he had to leave for work, he worked as a mechanic owning the local garage. He kissed his wife and daughters goodbye, pinching Sophia on her little nose and telling her to behave for her mother and then left, knowing his wife was about to quiz Carol on this new little development. Carol knew it too, eager to avoid the twenty questions she decided to leave also, wondering if it would look too weird if she was standing waiting next to his bike for fifteen minutes. She attempted to make her escape but her mother wasn't letting her slip away so easily, a knowing smirk on her lips.

"Daryl huh?" She started, kneeling down to help Sophia put her shoes on. "So that was your solution yesterday instead of walking?"

"He offered," Carol replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Does this mean you two are back together?"

"What do you mean?"

"I always thought you had a little thing going on with him? It was so cute you followed each other everywhere." Samantha had always loved the friendship Carol had with the boy next door, Daryl was a sweet child. Most people in the town may have kept their distance but she had lived next door to the Dixon's for a long time, Delilah was lovely woman and the boys were good kids, it was a shame her bastard of a husband had left everyone with such a bad taste before he disappeared.

"A thing? We were thirteen when we stopped being friends."

"You never kissed him? Even a little peck?"

"No! Mom I gotta go I don't wanna keep him waiting."

"Fine. Does this mean you're friends again though?"

Carol sighed, she hoped so.

"It's only been one day, who knows," and with that she made a quick exit from the kitchen and out the front door. She was planning on just waiting by the side of his bike but found Daryl already out there himself, standing on his front porch, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. Maybe had been as excited as her to get out the house this morning.

"Morning," she smiled as she made her way over to him.

"Hey," he growled back, his voice still gruff and laced with sleep. God he was sexy without even trying. "Ya make it home okay yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah thanks Michonne dropped me off." She watched as he stumped out his cigarette and climbed onto his bike.

"Do you take the bike every morning?" As much as she wanted to be wrapped around him again she was still nervous.

"Uh huh. Take the truck sometimes if Merle don't need it for work but most days it's the bike," he held out the spare helmet with an amused smirk. "Why, ya scared?"

She snatched the helmet from his hands answering with a firm no. She squashed down her curls and gave what she hoped was a confident smirk back.

"Adorable," he snorted earning a playful smack on his bicep as she hopped on behind him. She made sure she had a good grip on him before he sped out the driveway.

They continued with this arrangement everyday. She rode to school with him every morning, and home with him on days she didn't have any extracurricular activities. Things had gotten better between them, they no longer ignored each other in the hallways, exchanging a friendly nod and a quick hi whenever they passed each other. They would wave if they happened to catch each other's eye through their facing bedroom windows instead of pretending that they hadn't seen each other. But they hadn't been talking, not really talking. It's not like they were able to have much of a conversation on the ride over so the only chance she got was a couple of minutes before and after the journey. She had expected things to be a little awkward at first but they had been doing this for a few months now, it wasn't enough anymore, for either of them.

She was sat in the cafeteria opposite Michonne and Tara when he walked by their table, she reached out to playfully pinch his side and he swatted her hand away, an equally playful grin spread across his face. She kept watching him until he had disappeared around the corner before she turned back to her friends, both of whom were looking at her as though they were waiting for some sort of an explanation.

"Hey Michonne," Tara started, dramatically folding her arms across the table. "You know what's great about having two awesome best friends?"

"What's that?" Michonne joined in, mimicking Tara's pose with her own arms.

"Having someone to tell everything to. All your deepest, darkest secrets. Anything you might need to get off your chest. Is there anything you feel you might need to share?" She asked.

"No not me, I'm a wide open book. You?"

"Nope me neither. Hey Carol," they both snapped their heads forward to face her. "What about you?"

Carol simply stared at them while she finished chewing a mouth full of food, the corners of her mouth turned upwards in amusement, she shook her head slowly. "Nothing," she answered with a shrug.

"Okay cut the crap what's going on with Dixon?" Tara finally snapped and asked.

"Nothing!" Carol laughed. "He's giving me a ride to school and back. That's all honestly."

"Bullshit!" Michonne countered.

"Guys I swear," Carol was still laughing at their disbelief. "If anything does happen, I promise you will be the first to know."

Tara threw her hands in the air in delight, "So you do want something to happen?"

"That's not what I said."

"It's what you implied."

Carol scowled at them lightheartedly, this wasn't something they were going to let go easily.

It had been an unusually calm night in the Dixon household. All three of them being home to have dinner together which was usually a rare occurrence, at least one always being absent on a late work shift. Daryl and Merle stood in the kitchen washing the dishes whilst their mother enjoyed a glass of wine in front of the TV. Everything had been going so well until Merle decided to ask about Carol. He had been dying to tease his brother about his more than obvious infatuation with the girl next door.

Everyday for the past couple of months Daryl had been walking round with his head in the clouds, always smiling at nothing in particular. Merle knew why though, his mother had told him he had started talking to the Miller's girl again, had offered her a ride to school. He had always wondered why he hadn't just done that as soon as he had gotten his licence but he knew what an awkward fucker Daryl could be. He always needed that extra push.

"So how're things goin' with little miss Carol? Has your stubborn ass silence and standoffish behaviour got her weak at the knees for ya yet?" He teased.

Daryl gave him a sideways glare but didn't answer.

"Well? Have ya fucked her yet?" He said a little quieter, Merle was known for being crass but he tried to watch his language around their mother. His question was rewarded with the exact reaction he was hoping for, Daryl had thrown whatever pieces of cutlery that were in his hands back into the sink and turned to face his brother head on. He knew nothing had happened between Daryl and Carol, he was just trying to get a rise out of him. Carol wasn't one of the girls he occasionally hooked up with at one of the parties Merle dragged him to, she really meant something to him.

"Stop," was all he mumbled darkly.

"You're gonna have to up your game little brother! How long do you think a fine girl like her is gonna stay available for huh? I've already heard that piece of shit Peletier has been sniffin' around."

He noted the clench in Daryl's jaw at his words, he was getting more wound up by the second.

"You're gonna have to grow a pair and fast if you don't wanna spend the rest of your life as nothing but her chauffeur!"

That earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs as Daryl barged last him unwilling to listen to another minute of his taunting. He doubled over in pain where he had clipped him and listened to the almighty slamming of Daryl's bedroom door.

"What the hell was that?" Exclaimed Delilah as she walked into the kitchen to find her eldest son clutching at his ribs, soapy water splashed everywhere from where Daryl had thrown everything back in the sink.

"Nothing! I was only trying to help!"

And it was true, Merle wanted nothing more than to see his brother happy, in the years since his friendship with Carol he had tried and failed many times to get Daryl to hang out with some new people, even still he would drag him out anytime one of his own friends were throwing a party but nothing had ever seemed to work. No one made his brother happier than the little curly haired girl next door.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl had spent all day thinking about what Merle had said the night before. He had been watching Ed Peletier like a hawk every chance he got but so far he was yet to see him interact with Carol. Maybe there was a way he would be able to slip it into conversation with her without seeming like he was being nosy. It wasn't even that he was jealous and wanted her for himself, he did but that's not the reason he was concerned. Ed Peletier was bad news, everything about the guy screamed creep. He didn't understand why so many girls fawned over him, probably because of his popularity status, high school girls were fucking stupid. He didn't want that son of a bitch anywhere near Carol.

As much as Merle had made him feel like shit he knew he was right, he had been driving her to school for a few months now and whilst they no longer acted like strangers they really weren't that much closer than they were before. He needed to make plans with her to hang out away from school, just the two of them. Maybe he would be able to keep up a conversation with her as easily as he used to. His stomach gave a involuntary flip when he saw her exiting the science block, she waved her friends a quick goodbye before she was skipping over to him, that beautiful smile stretched wide on her face. He needed to do this now before his overactive inner voice talked him out of it, it was a Friday so she didn't have anywhere she needed to be and neither did he.

"So uh…" he stuttered. "I was thinkin' ya know, instead going straight home we could do somethin'"

She couldn't stop her grin from widening, "Something like what?"

"I dunno," he had ducked his head now, watching his fingers as he picked at the skin at the side of his thumb. "Maybe go for a drink?"

"We're not old enough to go for a drink."

"Not like that, meant a milkshake or somethin'. Could go to the diner, grab somethin' for dinner there too?"

"Like a date?" She teased.

"No," he said rather defensively, as soon as the word left his mouth he wanted to punch himself. What the fuck was wrong with him. He didn't miss the way her smile faltered, even if it was only a split second before she recovered it with a roll of her eyes and a giggle.

"Whatever," She dismissed as she hopped onto the bike and wrapped herself snugly around his middle. "Lets go."

As they sat in the diner with their milkshakes and burgers Daryl couldn't believe he had been so nervous about this. Carol was the one person he could talk and talk and talk to without worrying about running out of conversation topics, that hadn't changed. It felt good to laugh this hard again, to just be with her, they had been reminiscing about old times for over an hour, they had always had so much fun together.

"Do you remember that summer your cousin came to stay with you and we fully convinced him that your aunt and uncle had adopted him from Peru?" Daryl snorted. "We got in so much trouble for that."

"You mean I got in so much trouble for that! My mom was furious, Eugene was devastated!"

Daryl threw his head back in laughter as he thought back to that summer, they had both been grounded after that.

"Do you know how many flowers I had to pick before she would let me watch TV again?" Carol continued.

One day when they were younger Daryl had stumbled upon a group of large cherokee rose bushes in the woods not too far away from his house, he had been so excited to share his discovery with Carol. It had become a tradition after that to bring a single one of the flowers to their mothers as an apology whenever they had misbehaved. Usually just the one did the trick but this was not one of those times, Carol had had to pick enough to make a bouquet before her mother's anger at her had subsided.

"Huh, I forgot about the flower thing. They were your favourite right?"

Carol nodded, "They were beautiful. No one knows that but you actually. People usually just get me regular roses."

Daryl's smile faded slightly, he wondered which people she was referring to, Ed? He hoped not.

"Who's buying you flowers?" He tried to make his tone light and teasing, not wanting her to see the jealousy he had no right feeling.

Carol blushed a little and ducked her head. "Just a couple of guys. Exes."

"Who've you dated?" He pried, he wasn't sure why he was doing this to himself, he didn't want the image of her with anyone but himself but he was genuinely curious. "I heard you went out with that Ezekiel for a while."

"Mmhm, just him and Tobin. They were the only serious ones anyway."

"Tobin?" He asked in disbelief. "That guy from our math class?"

"Yeah what's wrong with him?"

"Nothin'" Daryl scoffed, a small smirk on his face. "Just seems super boring s'all"

"Oh come on he's not that bad."

"Whatever you say." He laughed and she gave him a light kick under table to stop him from making fun of her.

"What about you?" She asked.

He snorted a laugh, "Wouldn't catch me dead with any o' the girls from school. Too much drama for my liking."

"But there has been someone?"

"Sorta," he scrunched his nose up and shrugged. "No girlfriends, just…"

"Hook ups," she finished for him when he struggled to find the words.

"Mhm," he mumbled chewing on his lower lip. "Merle's crew."

Merle's crew. They definitely weren't high school girls. He wasn't proud of it, preferred not to think about it, and the awkward silence that now lingered showed it. He decided to take his chance while things were already uncomfortable.

"What about Ed Peletier?" He asked lowly, all playfulness disappeared from his tone.

Carol's heart dropped a little at his question. "No." She answered firmly. "Why what's he been telling people?"

Daryl was a little taken a back by how upset she sounded. "Nuthin', I mean… Merle heard that he's been showin' an interest in ya but I don't know who told 'im that. Why what's wrong? Has somethin' happened?"

Carol visibly relaxed, sighing as she shook her head. "No. Not really. He keeps asking me out, doesn't matter how many times I've said no. I hear him and his friends laughing sometimes when I walk past, just worried what they're saying about me sometimes."

Daryl was furious but it didn't surprise him one bit, guys like that always lied about how far they got with girls to try and boost their egos. It was a good job he hadn't heard anything otherwise every single one of them would've been on the receiving end of his fist. He didn't say anything but Carol could envision the thoughts running through his mind as she watched him closely, he looked angry.

"Are you free next Saturday night?" She asked him, the hesitancy clear in the her voice.

"Should be," he grunted.

"Sasha and Tyreese Williams are throwing a party. I really wanna go but I know he's gonna be there, keeps telling me he'll see me there. I know you don't like hanging out with anyone from school but I was wondering if maybe you'll go with me? I've always felt safe with you." She hated to put him in this position, it was things like this that had ended their friendship in the first place but she knew he would never let anything happen to her.

"Don't feel like you have to, I was only wondering," she added when he still didn't respond.

"I'll go."

The enormous smile that graced her features told him he had made the right decision, as much as he was dreading spending the night around people that constantly talked shit about him the fact that he was the one she thought of when she needed protecting made his chest swell with pride. He had made a promise to always keep her safe and he intended to keep it.

When they arrived home that day she couldn't stop herself from flinging her arms around him and squeezing him tight, god she had missed this so much, she missed him so much. Today they had easily fallen back into their old selves, she felt like she had really connected with him for the first time since they stopped talking.

The sudden movement startled him at first but once he had gained his composure he didn't hesitate to wrap himself around her also and bury his face in her curls. She smelled like coconuts and marshmallows, and it had his insides dancing, the warmth she caused radiating through his entire being.

Once she had let go and said goodbye he turned to walk towards his own front door, he noticed his mother peeking from the side of the window trying and failing to make it look like she wasn't spying on them. He walked to the front room where she was waiting, her face almost beaming with anticipation. He sat down and told her all about his afternoon, how so unbelievably grateful he was that Carol was willing to give their friendship another chance, that no matter what happened before her thoughts of him had never seemed to have changed.

"Have you apologised to her?" Delilah asked. "For letting her go?"

"Not yet," he replied. "But I know how to start."

Carol dragged her feet to the kitchen the next morning not looking forward to the busy day ahead. It may have been a Saturday but she had agreed to help her mother out at the bakery. Beth Greene, sister of her friend Maggie usually worked the Saturday morning shifts but she had called in sick. It was early and she was grumpy.

She sat down at the table where her father was reading a newspaper and poured herself a cup of coffee, she didn't even want to speak to anyone until this was in her system. When she faced her father she couldn't miss his amused expression.

"What?" She asked, unsure what he had to be so happy about at this time in the morning.

"There's a gift for you." He explained, his eyebrows raised as he nodded his head towards the counter behind them. "At least we're pretty sure it's for you. I found it when I went out to get the paper, it was left outside on the porch. Your mom said you'd know what it meant."

With her interest suddenly peeked Carol stood and walked over to the counter. There in an empty beer bottle stood a beautiful, lone cherokee rose. Her smile now spread from ear to ear, the overwhelming fluttering in her stomach almost causing tears to well behind her eyes. Now she knew her morning would go even more torturously slow, she hoped he wasn't working too because the moment she finished she was going to find him. She wasn't willing to wait another week until the party to have another moment like yesterday.


	5. Chapter 5

It was just after lunch time when Samantha had let Carol leave the bakery, it had been a crazy morning and she was already exhausted but the only thing on her mind was getting home and talking to Daryl. She speed walked her way back, calling home first to change her clothes and freshen up and then she was out again. Her heart dropped a little when she noticed his bike wasn't in the driveway, he was probably at work. She still decided to knock just in case there was a small chance his brother had taken it but when the front door opened she was stood face to face with Merle, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Hey sweet pea! Long time no see huh?" He bellowed.

"Hey Merle," she smiled, trying her best to not let her disappointment show. "I was hoping to speak to Daryl but I take it he's not here."

"'Fraid not, he's down at The Hideout. Should be finishing his shift right around now if I remember right, don't take him long to get home if ya just wanna come in an' wait?" He offered.

She thought about it for a moment, maybe he wouldn't want to see her as soon as he got home from work. She was tired from her morning shift and she was sure he would be too but in the end her desperation to see him won over. If he happened to look tired when he got here she would simply thank him for the flower and leave.

Merle stepped aside to allow her into the house, it had been over five years since she was last in here but nothing had changed, the only differences she noted were a few framed photos of the boys, more recent ones taken since she was last here.

"Ya remember where his room is don'tcha? Go on up and wait for him."

Carol felt a little weird about being in his room alone without his permission, especially since she hadn't been here in a long time. Merle sensed her hesitation, it only made his grin widen.

"Don't worry sugar it's alright, 'bout time he had a girl in his room if y'know what I'm saying?"

She laughed a little awkwardly, trying to fight the blush threatening to burn her cheeks. She didn't humour him with a response but simply made her way up the stairs and to Daryl's room. He had a rather simple room, a messy unmade double bed took up most of the space along with a few pieces of furniture. Plastered across his walls were some band posters, some she remembered Merle playing for them when they were younger and some she had never heard of. Looking out of his window towards her own bedroom she could see the cherokee rose she had placed on her window sill, she had put it there this morning so he would be able to see it too. She wondered if he had spotted it yet, his bike had still been in the driveway when she had left for the bakery.

She wasn't sure what to do with herself, eventually picking up one of the books on his desk and settling down on his bed to read. As she sat down something to the side of her caught her eye, pinned to his bedside table were three polaroid photos, old and slightly battered she could tell he had had them a while. One was of his mother, smiling proudly into the camera as she held what looked to be newly born Daryl tightly in her arms, Merle leaning over her shoulder trying to get a peek at his new baby brother. The second was of him and Merle, sat on Merle's bike in the driveway. Daryl looked about nine years old, Merle had his arms stretched out to cover his brothers, showing him where all the controls were and teaching him for when he learned how to ride.

It was the third and final picture that really tugged at her heartstrings. Staring back at her with bright eyes and toothy grins were her and Daryl, around six years old. She remembered Delilah taking this photo, it was one of the best nights she had ever had. It was the night a carnival had come to town, they had spent hours on the dodgems and waltzers and eaten so much cotton candy they were on a sugar high for days.

She wondered how long he had had this pinned up next to his bed, she didn't remember seeing it when she was last here. Her chest was tight with emotion as the stared at the picture, she loved him. She loved him so much, more than she had ever loved anybody and the way she had been feeling the past few months proved it now more than ever. Her gut told her he felt the same too but she knew he would never make the first move, it was all down to her to make this happen.

Daryl arrived home to find Merle leaning against the kitchen counter, a shit eating grin dominated his features. Daryl could tell he had been waiting for him to come home. Instantly suspicious he stepped back to take in his surroundings, wondering what the hell his brother looked so smug about.

"Hey lil brother!" He barked out delightedly.

"Hey," Daryl narrowed his eyes, still searching the room for anything that seemed out of place.

"You got a surprise waitin' upstairs for ya. In your room."

"I told you to stay outta my fuckin' room!" Daryl snapped.

"And I haven't been in there!" Merle shouted back defensively. "But someone else might be," He wagged his eyebrows suggestively and Daryl knew he was talking about a girl.

"Carol?" He asked, there wasn't anyone else it could be. He never spoke to any other girls at school and the ones he knew from Merle's crew were never bothered about seeing him again, he hadn't even been out with Merle for a while now.

"Yes!" Merle slapped his palm down on the counter with so much enthusiasm he was surprised he hadn't cracked it. At that moment Delilah walked through the door with the groceries she had just been out to get.

"What's going on?" She asked when saw Daryl's stance, sensing his frustration.

"Carol's upstairs waiting for 'im. Go on boy don't keep her waitin'!"

"Well why is she upstairs Merle? That's not how you treat guests you should've been talking to her while you were waiting!"

"S'only Carol," he shrugged as if she had still been coming over regularly for the last five years. From the corner of his eye he saw Daryl trying to sneak away from them both unnoticed. "Hey! Don't screw this up baby brother!"

"Shut the fuck up!" He retaliated earning a sharp look from his mother, he followed up with a soft "Sorry ma," before disappearing to his room.

"You shouldn't do that, tease him," Delilah said to Merle once Daryl was out of sight. "You know how he is."

"I'm not tryna embarrass him or nuthin'," he shrugged again. "Just wanna encourage him, s'nice to see him happy again. If this don't work out he goes back to bein' the miserable recluse he was a few months ago."

Delilah rested her head on her eldest son's shoulder, her arm stretching round him lovingly. "I know baby me too, but you gotta let him do this on his own, it'll all work out eventually."


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl pushed open the door to his room slowly, there he found Carol lying on his bed, her fingers gently tracing over the photos pinned up next to it. He cleared his throat to alert her to his presence making her jump slightly, moving quickly to sit upright she gave him a shy smile.

"Hey," he grunted.

"Hey," she looked down to where she was tracing patterns over his duvet. "How was work?"

He huffed out a laugh. "As shitty as you could expect. Devon's an asshole, can't wait for the day I can quit and tell him to go fuck himself." Daryl worked in the kitchen at The Hideout, a bar on the outskirts of town run by one of Merle's friends, and not one he got along with.

"So why don't you?" She asked. "Just find something else, you don't deserve to be treated like shit."

Daryl looked at her as if she was crazy. "I'm a Dixon Carol, jobs don't come easy, not in this town. Just doin' what I can to help out my mom, s'not as bad since Merle started workin' full time but I still gotta do my bit."

His words made her heart hurt. You would think after all this time people would've realised what good people the Dixon's were, that they were nothing like the worthless, angry man that left them behind after years of causing hell. Daryl observed the sadness that had replaced her smile.

"Hey," he soothed. "S'only for the rest of this year, just til school ends. Then I can look for work in a garage outside town, don't mind the longer drive if it's full time."

"A mechanic? That's what you wanna do?" She asked.

"Mhm," he nodded.

"Then why do you have to look out of town? Why don't you just ask my dad? He'd have given you a job ages ago."

He had thought about it, Alexander Miller owned one of the best garages in Georgia. He always thought he would be crossing a line though considering he'd completely ditched his daughter a few years back.

"You really think?" He tried not to sound too hopeful in case it didn't work out.

"Yes!" She bounced up and down on her knees in excitement. "We can talk to him later, work something out."

Daryl didn't know how to express how grateful he was, walking over to her he wrapped his arms around her in the biggest hug he could manage. She squeaked in surprise and squeezed him back. The angle was awkward, he was still standing hesitantly at the edge of his bed. Wanting him closer she tugged at his waist until he was sitting next to her, as soon as she had better access she manoeuvred herself in front of him, boldly getting closer until she was practically in his lap. He instinctively buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. She raked her fingers back and forth across the hair at his nape, an eruption of shivers to cascading down his spine.

"Thank you for my flower," she whispered into his ear, her hot breath fanning out across his skin enhancing the already prominent goosebumps.

"S'just the start of me saying sorry," he mumbled into her neck. "Gonna make it up to you, I promise."

She gently pulled his head back to look into his eyes, her arms locked around his shoulders.

"For what?" She breathed, confusion plain on her features.

"Lettin' you go." His voice was rough, gravelly with emotion. He inched forward ever so slightly so that his forehead was pressed to hers, their noses grazing softly.

Her heart was racing a million miles a minute, her stomach doing backflips as her eyes glued to his lips. The slightest movement was all it would take to taste him, to feel the sweet glide of them moving against her own. She could feel him nervously clenching and unclenching his fists where his large hands were resting on her waist. They were so close-

"Carol! Oh honey it's so good to see you…" Delilah's words trailed off as she witnessed Carol launch herself away from Daryl as if his touch suddenly seared her.

"Uh hey, hey Delilah," Carol stammered, her face felt like it was on fire.

Delilah wanted to kick herself for barging in, she only wanted to say hello to Carol but now she was wondering why the hell she couldn't have just waited until they had both come downstairs. She stepped forward to envelope Carol in an affectionate hug, she tried to give Daryl an apologetic look over her shoulder, he looked less than impressed.

"I'll er- leave you two alone, I'm just glad you're here again sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything!" She said as she backed out of the room, Daryl's glare following her out.

She bounded down the stairs and to the front room with her head in her hands.

"I ruined it! I ruined it!" She cried as Merle looked up at her from the couch.

"What?" He asked wondering why his mother seemed so distressed.

"He was going to kiss her! They were so close and then I just barged in and ruined it. Carol looked mortified!"

Merle stared at her in disbelief, "Ya sure that's what was happenin'?"

"She was straddling him Merle, their faces were this close!" She held up her fingers less than an inch apart for emphasis.

"Damn! Maybe I don't gotta worry so much about him after all."

Delilah couldn't wipe the look of guilt off her face.

"Look ma, s'alright. Trust me if they found themselves in that position once then it's gonna happen again."

She sighed heavily and sat down next to Merle. "I hope so."

"Sorry 'bout that," Daryl grumbled, awkwardly looking down to where he was picking at the skin of his thumb.

"No no don't be, it's nice to see her again. Properly I mean," she responded.

Neither of them knew what to do with themselves, the unresolved tension still thick in the air. Carol's earlier feeling of guilt for showing up uninvited returned when Daryl tried to stifle a big yawn. He was tired, so was she and she felt like she needed to get some air, his room had sudden gotten suffocatingly warm.

"I should go," she didn't miss the flash of worry as she rose from his bed, he thought she was embarrassed because of him. "I'm just tired from work is all and I can tell you are too, you should rest a little," she reassured.

He was so close, he couldn't just give up now.

"You wanna do somethin' tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"I'd love to but my parents are going out, I already told them I'd watch Soph so they wouldn't need a sitter." His brow creased in disappointment but he still nodded in defeat. "You could always join us? I mean we were gonna have a pizza and movie night anyway, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you joining us."

A smile grew on his face and he nodded again. "Sounds fun."

"Cool, I'll see you later. I hope you like _Moana_!" She called over her shoulder as she walked out of his room.

He laughed and lay back to rest his tired eyes, glancing briefly at the polaroid of them both next to his bed. He didn't care what they watched as long as he got to spend his night with her.

The pizza had been ordered and the movie was ready to play, Daryl followed Carol into the kitchen as she prepared some snacks for when they watched the film. He leaned his elbows on the kitchen island and watched as she reached for various things in the cupboard, her shirt riding up to show a sliver of the smooth skin of her lower back. He wanted to run his fingers over it, feel the softness beneath the pads of his fingers. He wanted to trace it with his lips, he wanted to trace every part of her with his lips. He was snapped out of his daydream when she turned around sharply.

"Of course we can't watch a film without popcorn!" She said cheerfully, emptying the packet into a large bowl.

"Sweet or salted?" He asked trying to get a look at the packaging.

"Sweet," she smirked.

"Ugh you suck," he joked, pulling a childish face in her direction.

"Sorry, two against one, Soph prefers this one too."

She laughed at his pouting, and turned back to the cupboard. She pulled out a bag of salted popcorn and threw it at him, he was startled slightly but caught it in time.

"I take it back you're the best," he grinned.

" _See that line where the sky meets the sea it calls me!"_

They both laughed as they listened to Sophia belt out the lyrics from the front room.

"Get used to it, she's gonna be like this all night," Carol warned.

They were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"Pizza!" Sophia yelled.

"I got it," Daryl said grabbing his wallet and heading to the front door. He opened it and came face to face with Glenn Rhee.

Daryl didn't know much about the guy, only that he was dating the farmer's daughter and he was friends with Carol. Glenn's expression turned from one of shock to mischief as he stared at Daryl, a smug grin on his face.

"Daryl Dixon, how you doin' man?"

"How much?" Daryl growled ignoring his attempt at friendly conversation.

"$20" Glenn took the money he handed over and continued to stand there, huge smile stretched across his face.

"Ya need somethin'?" Daryl snapped.

"Nope, nothing," Glenn said as he backed down the driveway. "Tell Carol I said hey would you?"

Daryl continued to scowl until he had closed the door, he walked into the front room with the pizza and placed it in front of Sophia who was bouncing up and down on the couch with excitement. He walked to the front window and glanced out at Glenn who was currently stood by his bike talking on his phone animatedly.

"The fuck is he doin'?" Daryl mumbled to himself as Carol walked in the room to place the snacks on the table.

"You said a bad word!" Cried Sophia pointing a tiny accusing finger at him.

"Sorry sweetheart," he said softening his voice for her.

Sophia didn't remember Daryl being friends with her sister, she had only been a toddler when he was last here, he had only arrived a couple of hours earlier and they were already getting on like a house on fire. Carol knew that he didn't have any younger relatives so she was surprised by how good he was with children.

"Who are you looking at?" Carol wandered over to stand next to him at the window.

"That Chinese kid your friends with, you know from school."

"If you mean Glenn he's Korean," she corrected.

"Oh. Sorry," he grumbled again.

She smiled and looked over to watch Glenn. She took her phone out of her pocket and placed it on the window sill between them.

"Wait for it," she said.

Daryl looked between her phone and her face in confusion. He looked back up at Glenn in time to see him hang up his phone and drive away.

"Here we go," Carol said staring at her phone, less than thirty seconds later it buzzed on the sill, the screen lighting up to show a message from Tara.

' _Date night with "Sophia" huh?'_ it read.

Carol laughed out loud, she had told everyone she couldn't hang out tonight because she was babysitting.

' _YES! He lives next door it was a last minute arrangement!'_ she replied.

"She thinks I blew them off for a date with you," she explained to Daryl, a perplexed look still on his face.

Her phone buzzed again.

' _Suuuuure'_ was all the message read with a wink emoji on the end.

"Come here," She said waving Daryl over as she positioned herself next to Sophia for a selfie.

He held out his hand for her phone to take the photo.

"No!" She laughed. "I don't want you take it I want you to get in."

He perched rather awkwardly on the sofa next to her as she held up her phone, her and Sophia leaning in close to pull funny faces whilst Daryl stayed in the background, his usual glower set in place. She snapped the photo and brought it up to look at it.

"I love it," she smiled sending the photo onto Tara.

Daryl cleared his throat and settled back into the sofa, Sophia crawling over her sister to curl up into his side.

"We watchin' this thing or not? Pizza's goin' cold."

Carol scoffed and pressed play on the remote. She looked down at her phone as it buzzed again.

' _How cute. You best still be coming to Sasha and Ty's party next week.'_

She showed Daryl the message. "Will you still come with me?"

He looked into her eager eyes and knew he couldn't possibly say no. If he was being honest he was dreading it, but he wouldn't let her down. For now he would try and put it to the back of his mind and convince himself it wouldn't be as bad as he was imagining.


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, so there's gonna be two designated drivers, Rick and either Zeke or Jerry, they're still arguing between them," Michonne chattered away as they walked down the hallway to their next class. "Obviously I'll be riding with Rick, shall I tell him you guys are joining us? There'll be room for Denise too."

"Hell yes, count us in," Tara agreed.

Carol hesitated, she hadn't yet told her friends that Daryl was coming to the party with her. She had been surprised they hadn't grilled her after Saturday night, only a few teasing comments here and there but this would definitely spark up the conversation.

"I er- actually think I'm gonna make my own way there," She stammered.

Michonne looked at her in confusion. "What, why?"

"I'm going with Daryl," she shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

Both her friends suddenly stopped to gawp at her.

"What?" Carol asked. "Don't make a big deal out of it I'm still going with you guys, he'll just be there too."

"Not a big deal?" Tara scoffed. "You've convinced Daryl Dixon to go to a party with you. A high school party. With people from school. He hates everything and everyone in this place. Except you obviously."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Yeah so you gotta be nice to him."

"What made you think we wouldn't be nice?" Tara questioned.

"I just mean no teasing, no funny comments, nothing to make him anymore uncomfortable than he'll already be."

"Is he bringing you on his bike then?" Michonne asked.

"No, we're gonna walk. Or get a cab, I dunno I guess we'll just see how we feel tomorrow. I want him to be able to have a few drinks, might help him relax a little I can tell he's dreading it."

"Are you seriously not gonna admit he's your boyfriend yet?"

"He's not!" Carol cried, turning away from them to continue the walk to class.

"It's fine, you keep saying that," Michonne called out to her. "It's always the way it is, everyone sees it except to two people who are meant to be together."

Daryl was sat in the parking lot straddling his bike as he waited for her. He watched the students around him moving in packs as they hustled around the lot and he wondered who he would be seeing tomorrow. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't panicking a little, these were people who had treated him like dirt his whole life just because of his name, just because their parents had told them he was bad news. No one had ever tried to find out for themselves except Carol, but their situation was different, they had lived next door to each other since they were born. He briefly thought about what his childhood would've been like had that not been the case, would she have shunned him too if she hadn't known him her whole life?

He felt a stab of pain in his chest at the idea, he didn't want to imagine what his life would be like if he didn't know her, the last five years had been the most miserable of his life and that even included the ones his father was still around for, she was the centre of his world. He lit a cigarette to take the edge off the anxiety that was creeping up on him.

He spotted a group of her friends exiting the building to his left, the pizza guy and the farmer's daughter were among them, along with Ezekiel and a larger guy that seemed to never leave his side, Daryl only knew his name because he's taken an interest when he heard rumours about Carol dating him a while back. He recognised the other two as well, one was Shane Walsh, he was an asshole, Daryl had butted heads with him a few times during their years at school, he was holding hands with a girl from his history class, Laura something, maybe Lori? He wasn't sure.

He had been staring at them too long, his gaze locking with the large guy's, he nodded in Daryl's direction and suddenly their heads whipped around and all eyes were on him. He watched their hushed whispers and debates and he wished he could be literally anywhere else at that moment. Where the hell was Carol? She hadn't mentioned having anything after school that day but she was sure taking her time.

The next thing he knew the farmer's daughter was coming towards him, he saw Shane shaking his head and grabbing her arm to try and pull her back but she just swatted him away. He tried to avert his gaze in an attempt to make her turn back round but he knew it wouldn't work, his leg started bouncing with nervous energy. A few seconds later she was stood in front of him, he glanced up at her through his overgrown bangs, his mother had begged him to let her cut them but he preferred them this way, they allowed him to hide his face when he felt awkward, it was a big comfort thing for him.

"Daryl, hey," Maggie beamed at him with a thick southern accent. She waited patiently whilst he stared at her, eventually he jutted his chin up slightly in response.

"I heard you're comin' to Sasha and Ty's with Carol tomorrow," she continued and he nodded once. "Rick told us you were planning on taking a cab, I just wanted you to know you're welcome to ride with us, we got two people driving. Don't feel like you have to, I mean we can just hang out there if you'd prefer. Just think about it."

She kept it short and sweet, knowing he wasn't one for conversation. Michonne had told Rick about her earlier conversation with Carol and how Daryl wasn't looking forward to being there, she wanted him to know that he was welcome in their group. They all loved Carol, and Carol clearly loved him.

"Thanks," he grumbled as he watched her backing away with a bright smile.

Daryl thought she seemed nice enough but he couldn't help but wonder how many had actually agreed to it. He guessed not everyone was on board by the way Shane had tried to hold her back. He still didn't understand exactly why she needed him there, she had so many friends, surely a huge group like this could've easily helped keep Peletier away from her. He had to admit that as much as he hated it, it still made him feel special, that no matter how many people she had with her she still felt the safest with him.

He was relieved to finally see her exit the building, catching her wild curls from the corner of his eye. She skipped over to him, and flung her arms around him, something that had become a regular greeting between them now. She climbed on the bike behind him and molded her body to his, his heart rate increasing at the feel of her wrapped around him, he hoped he wouldn't disappoint her too badly.


	8. Chapter 8

_***Thank you so much to everyone that has left reviews, I really appreciate every single one xox***_

The walk to Sasha and Tyreese's house was quite pleasant for Carol, they didn't live too far and the weather was perfect, it had been a scorching afternoon but it was getting late enough that it was just starting to cool down. She was already enjoying herself but she didn't think she could say the same for Daryl, he had barely spoken a word since they had left her house. She glanced to her side to take in his worried expression, brow furrowed, chewing nervously on his lower lip, his whole demeanour screamed distress. She took his sweaty hand in hers, squeezing tightly to bring their strolling to a stop.

"Hey," She said softly trying to make her tone as comforting as possible. "You know just because I asked you to come doesn't mean you have to?"

He chewed on his lip harder, his head ducking low to stare at his feet. If that were true she wouldn't have stopped speaking to him in the first place right? Even if it wasn't he knew he had to try, not just for Carol but for himself.

"I know," he grumbled. "I wanna."

She gave him a dubious look until he sighed, he knew he didn't sound nor look at all convincing.

"Alright I just don't wanna disappoint ya again. I'm sorry, I'm really tryin'"

He sounded so defeated and she hated it. She reached out to grab the hand she wasn't already holding and took a few tiny steps forward to close the gap between them. His head was still ducked low so he was taken by surprise when she reached up on her tiptoes to press her lips lightly against his own. It was sweet, gentle, almost felt like a sort of apology of her own.

He might not have wrapped his head around what was happening but his body responded immediately, his lips gliding against hers eagerly. He pulled his hands from hers to place them I'm either side of her face, holding her to him for as long as possible, hers found purchase on his waist, her fingers gripping the fabric of his t-shirt. He felt her begin to smile widely into the kiss and he couldn't help but copy.

"What?" He asked breathlessly, pulling away to look into her grinning face.

"Nothing," she giggled, nuzzling her nose against his. "I'm just happy. You have nothing to be sorry for."

She gave him one last peck before reluctantly pulling away from him, taking his hand she continued their walk, tugging him alongside her. Daryl couldn't believe it had finally happened, the worry on his face replaced with pure elation, his lips still tingling from her touch. He knew he'd be able to get through tonight no matter what happened, nothing could ruin this day anymore.

They arrived at Sasha and Tyreese's house and let themselves in, the party was already in full swing. Daryl looked around at the sea of rowdy people, his irritation already rising slowly. Carol felt his grip on her hand tightening, she gave him a reassuring squeeze and led them further into the house. Once she had found a quieter gap mostly out of peoples way she leaned up on her tiptoes to speak in his ear.

"I'm gonna go get you a beer, stay here, I promise I'll be quick."

He nodded and watched her disappear into the crowd. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked on his heels awkwardly. He had already noticed a few of his classmates shooting funny glances his way, a mixture of surprise and wariness.

"Wooow Dixon, I never thought I'd see the day you were at one of these things," slurred a female voice.

He looked to his side to see a girl from a few of his classes leaning against the wall next to him, a little too close for his liking, Rosita he remembered her name as. He knew a little bit about the girl, she had been dating Abraham Ford, a guy that had been in the year above them but had now gone off to college. He had heard rumours circulating that they had broken up recently, and if he was going off her appearance now he would say that she wasn't taking it very well. She was clearly hammered already, he could smell the liquor on her breath as she leaned further towards him, struggling to keep her balance she threw her arms around his middle, his whole frame tensing at the unfamiliar touch.

"D'you wanna keep me company tonight?" She asked in what he guessed was an attempt to sound seductive.

Daryl stared at her like a deer in headlights, grateful when he looked up and saw Carol coming back with their drinks. She raised her eyebrows at the sight in front of her, Rosita barely managing to stay upright wrapping herself round Daryl like a vine whilst he looked like he was getting ready to head for the hills.

"Here you go," she said calmly handing Daryl his drink, once he took it and one of her hands was free she lifted it up to brush his shaggy hair out of his eyes, running it down his arm and finally linking their fingers together.

Rosita watched her actions, scoffing and slapping her palm to the centre of her forehead.

"Of course," she muttered gesturing between the two of them before stumbling off into the crowd.

"The fuck?" Daryl sighed releasing a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding.

"Told you you're cute," Carol giggled when he shot her a disbelieving look. "They may be scared of you but trust me there's plenty of girls here that would jump at the chance to make out with you."

"Don't want any of 'em," he growled hooking his arm around her waist and hiking her up to him, he was just about to lean down to kiss her when they were harshly interrupted.

"Carol!" Jerry bellowed, picking her up and spinning her round as her whole group of friends came over to greet them.

"Don't think I didn't see what was just about to happen," Michonne whispered in her ear once Jerry had placed her back on the floor.

Carol shot her a knowing look and promised to explain later, although nobody would really have been surprised at this point anyway. Once they had all tried to welcome Daryl, some more awkwardly than others, they were dragging them over to where everyone was dancing.

"Hey," Daryl said holding Carol back a second. "Have you seen Peletier yet?"

"No," Carol said shaking her head. "Well yeah actually I saw him when I was in the kitchen but I don't think he saw me."

Daryl's head snapped round in the direction she was talking about, his eyes searching for the bastard's face.

"Come on, I don't wanna spend all night worrying about him," she continued gripping him round the waist. "Let's just go have fun."

He wasn't sure how many drinks he had had at this point, all he knew was he was far past the point of 'just trying to relax'. He leaned heavily against the wall for support, his head spinning slightly. He tried to focus on her in the crowd, her bright beaming smile, the rosy flush of her cheeks from a mixture of the dancing and the alcohol, the way her eyes seemed to sparkle every time she laughed. Fuck she was beautiful, and he was here alone, slumped in the corner of the room watching her dance with Ezekiel. He had tried to join in he really had but this was not his idea of a good party, he had never felt so out of place in his life. He had barely even lasted one song before leaning close to tell her he would watch her from afar, she had tried to go with him but he didn't want her to miss out on the fun just because he was uncomfortable.

She had promised to keep checking in with him but so far that hadn't happened, and he hated to admit it but it bothered him. He didn't want to be but he was angry at her. She had dragged him to this thing in the first place and now she had completely abandoned him. Again. He was desperate to leave but he was just as desperate to not mess up whatever had happened between them on the way over here. His conflicting emotions were getting too overwhelming for him and so he kept trying to drink them away, he realised now through his blurred vision that may have been a really bad idea.

"Daryl! What in the hell are you doing here?" Shouted an obnoxious voice, a strong arm clamping down round his shoulders. Negan. He regularly clashed with this guy too. He thought he was something just because he was the star of the school's baseball team.

Daryl sighed heavily and kept his gaze on Carol, he seriously wasn't in the mood for this shit tonight. Negan followed his gaze, immediately landing on Carol as she spun and laughed with her friends.

"Ohhh," he continued, a shit stirring grin spread across his face. He was already enjoying Daryl's obvious misery. "Come on man, you don't really think you have a shot with her do you?"

Daryl continued to ignore him but Negan was determined to keep pushing his buttons.

"Girls like her just don't end up with guys like you. Look at her, just look at her. She is just like a ray of sunshine don't you think? And you, just in case you didn't know, well you're kind of a cynical asshole."

Daryl clenched and unclenched his jaw, his patience quickly running thin.

"I gotta say you're daddy sure had the right idea,"

Daryl's blood ran cold at the mention of his father.

"Hell this whole damn town thanked the lord the day his psycho ass up and left, just a shame he couldn't have taken you and his bitch with him."

And that was when Daryl finally snapped. His drink falling to the floor as he lunged for Negan, his fist colliding with his jaw with a sickening crunch. Before Negan had the chance to recover Daryl had him pinned on the floor, he managed to get in a few more punches before he was being hauled off by Tyreese.

"Come on man not in here, keep that shit outside!" He yelled at the brawling pair.

Negan jumped back to his feet with a bloody nose, delighted at the reactions of the crowd that surrounded them. Daryl was cringing at the wave of startled expressions, every set of eyes in the room looking his way. And then there was Carol, storming towards him looking less than pleased. She didn't say anything, simply grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and dragged him towards the stairs away from prying eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Carol dragged him up the stairs and into the nearest bathroom, slamming the door behind them.

"What the fuck Daryl?" She shouted, crossing her arms and waiting for an explanation.

"I told you Carol! I don't belong here, I'm never gonna get on with these people!" He yelled back.

"You're not even trying!"

Not even trying. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you fuckin' kidding me? How would you feel if you walked into a room and immediately knew that people were talkin' shit about you? About Sophia, about your mom? Do you have any idea what that's like?"

All she could do was stare at him open mouthed.

"No! You don't! So don't force me into a room where that is exactly what's happenin' and then tell me that I'm not even tryin'!"

"Daryl…"

"No Carol!" He stopped her, this had been a problem for him his whole life. He realised now that if there was any real chance of salvaging what they had then she needed to hear this. "How do you think it felt when we were thirteen years old, we had just started a new school, you were my only friend and you stopped wanting to go anywhere with me unless you were with your new friends. You were my everything!"

"I was only trying to help! I thought you'd come round eventually but you never did. We were just kids I didn't get why you couldn't just make friends like I could-"

"Cause everybody loved you!" He interrupted. "Nobody loved me!"

"I did…" her voice cracked, the tears welling up in her eyes threatening to spill down her face.

"I know I shouldn't have just stopped talking to you," he continued, his voice quieter now. "I have been tryin' my best to make it up to you for that but it wasn't just me. You gave up on me too."

He was waiting for her to say something but she stood there in silence. Her head bowed low trying to hide her trembling lip from him. He stared at her for a few more moments, wanting to give her one last chance to speak. When she didn't he almost ripped the bathroom door off it's hinges before slamming it hard behind him.

He felt like he couldn't breath, everything had been going so well between them, within just a few hours his whole world had been torn apart again. He shoved his way through the crowd of people, most of who seemed to have already forgotten about the altercation. He made his way to the front door, just leaving in time to see Rosita climbing into the back of a cab with Spencer Monroe. He stormed straight past them and broke into a run, desperate to get home and forget about this whole disaster of a night. He thanked god that neither his mom or Merle were home, he couldn't cope with any questions tonight.

Carol gripped the edges of the bathroom counter and tried to focus on her breathing. She couldn't get his words out of her head, you were my everything. She knew he was right, it wasn't completely his doing, she had given up on him too. She had known him her whole life, knew every little thing about him. She knew what had been ingrained in his mind as a consequence of his father's actions, knew how anxious he got in social situations and yet she had let her patience run out with him. She had never been more disappointed in herself and wanted desperately to undo the damage the last few years had had on her relationship with him.

She needed to fix this now, running from the bathroom and bounding down the stairs she searched desperately for him in the sea of faces. He wouldn't be here, of course he had gone home, it was all he'd been itching to do since the moment they arrived and now he didn't have a reason to stay. She thought about what she had said to him, that he didn't try, that must've been such a slap in the face to him. She knew that he was otherwise he wouldn't have been here in the first place but it had just slipped out in the heat of the moment. She had just about reached the front door when her path was blocked by Ed Peletier.

"Hey baby," he leered. "You can't be leaving already."

"Ed get the fuck out of my way!" She yelled giving him a hard yet ineffective shove in the chest.

"If you're in a hurry to get to the hick I wouldn't bother, I get the feeling he won't wanna be disturbed tonight if you know what I mean," he smirked wagging his eyebrows.

"I don't know what you mean, just fucking move!" She snapped, she had zero tolerance for his bullshit right now.

"He's already gone Carol, just climbed into the back of a cab with Rosita Espinosa. Dixon's gettin' busy tonight!" Ed laughed, his little group of henchmen joining in.

Carol's screwed up her face, shaking her head in disgust.

"You're so full of shit," she said, inwardly cursing herself when her voice cracked again.

"Am I?" Ed sneered. "Look around you, do you see either of them?"

She searched the crowd for Rosita, her heart sinking when she was unable to spot her in the crowds. She needed to get out of there now, she was not going to give Ed the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She managed to push past them while they were busy laughing, as soon as she was out she walked as fast as she could, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

As soon as she had locked herself in her bedroom she crumbled, sliding down the door she curled up in a ball on the floor, sobs ripping through her entire body. She clasped her hands over her mouth, not wanting to wake up her parents or Sophia. How can she have messed this up so badly and not have even realised she was doing it? Just hours ago she was tasting him on her lips, had his body crushed against hers as she lost herself in his soft sighs and gentle touch. Now he was having sex with someone else, and not just anyone, Rosita was beautiful. She tortured herself with the thoughts of her tasting him too, her hands running over the toned muscles of his perfect body, connecting with him in one of the most intimate ways possible.

She felt sick. The physical pain in her chest spreading throughout her body, infiltrating her bones. She cried and cried until her body could barely produce anymore tears. She was completely drained, a harrowing numbness settling over her soul.

She forced herself to stand on shaky legs and shuffled her way over to her window, she looked across to his room, unsure if she was disappointed or relieved to see his drapes were shut. Dragging herself over to her bed she changed out of her dress and buried herself under her duvet, closing her eyes she hoped and waited for the welcoming pull of sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

She hadn't slept, simply lay there tossing and turning and wondering how long it would take for the ache in her chest to subside. Her dog Rocco liked to lay outside on the porch steps first thing in the morning, she had decided to sit outside and join him after making herself a coffee, she prayed the caffeine would make her look a little more alive than she felt.

Her eyes were red and heavily swollen, she was still numb. Looking over at his house she saw his bike parked in the driveway, he was home, she wondered if Rosita was still in there with him. A fresh wave of tears stung behind her eyes, she took a deep breath before burying her face into Rocco's fur, holding him tightly for comfort.

Merle was on his way out for a Sunday morning run when he spotted her sat on her porch, her wild curls hard to miss. He made his way over to her wondering what she was doing up at this time.

"Hey sweet pea!" He called as he walked over to the porch.

Carol was startled at the sound of his voice. She quickly tried to compose herself. A fake smile plastered across her face. There was no way she could hide it, even if she managed to put on a convincing act her puffy eyes would tell people a mile away she had been bawling her eyes out.

"Woah, woah, what's wrong darlin'?" Merle asked, his voice full of concern.

"What? There's nothing wrong. Hayfever," she lied pathetically, trying to laugh him off.

He knew that she had spent last night with Daryl, he can't have seriously messed things up so badly in one night could he? The girl looked distraught.

"Are ya gonna tell me what he's done?" He asked matter of factly.

Her brow furrowed again as she tried to not break down again.

"Nothing," she shrugged.

Merle simply stared at her, not allowing her to brush this off, she let out a long shaky sigh.

"He really didn't, it's not like we're together or anything."

Merle barked out a laugh, "Sweetheart trust me, you're together. No question about it, whether you've discussed it or not at this point you just are."

"Then why did he go home with someone else?" She whispered. And that was it, her façade crumbled and she was speaking through tears again.

"What?!" Merle roared. "Who?!"

"Just someone from our class, Rosita," She sputtered.

Merle couldn't believe his brother would do this, Carol was the girl of his dreams, surely he wasn't stupid enough to go home with someone else. He turned on his heel and charged back towards his house.

"Merle!" She called after him but he ignored her.

He took the stairs two at a time before barging into Daryl's room, throwing the door open so hard the handle left a dint in the wall.

"What the fuck?" Daryl groaned as he shot upright from his sleeping position, rubbing his groggy eyes, his hair sticking up in every direction.

"Too right what the fuck!" Merle yelled at him. "Where is she huh? She left already? You chuck her out as soon as it was over?" He was getting right up in his brother's face.

Daryl grabbed the pillow from behind him and proceeded to whack Merle across the head as hard as he could. "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about but you better back off!" It was too early for this and he felt rough as shit, none of it even made any sense to him.

"You tellin' me you didn't fuck this Rosita chick last night?" Merle accused.

"Espinosa?" Daryl asked, his face screwing up with confusion. "No! She left with one o' them posh pricks from Alexandria. I didn't fuck anyone!"

"Well that girl over there," Merle gestured wildly in the direction of Carol's house. "The girl you are so goddamn pathetically in love with, and who by the way feels exactly the same way about you, thinks you did!"

"What? Why the fuck would she think that?" Daryl's heart sank.

"The hell am I supposed to know? What I do know is she's sat on her steps outside cryin' those pretty eyes out!"

Daryl dragged his hands over his tired face and groaned, just when he thought last night couldn't have been any worse he was proved wrong. Merle sighed, he hated seeing his brother like this, there was nothing he wanted more than for him and Carol to get their shit together.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" He asked more softly.

"We had a fight," Daryl grumbled, his face still hidden in his hands. "Had too much to drink, punched one of the biggest assholes in school, she started yelling at me so I yelled back then I left, don't know what happened after that."

"Well go find out then!" Merle urged giving him a slap on the back.

Daryl glared at his brother and dragged himself out of bed, the ache in his muscles and pounding in his head were his body telling him to just get back in and sleep but he needed to sort this mess out. He walked outside barefoot, still in his sleep clothes, he saw her straight away already looking in his direction. As he got closer he noticed her swollen features, she really must've been crying a hell of a lot. He didn't even know where to start so he just jumped straight into it.

"Why'd you think I came back here with Rosita last night?"

"Ed saw you getting in a cab with her," her voice sounded weak and raspy.

Oh for fucks sake, he thought. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Ed would say something like that, what he didn't understand was why she believed him.

"Okay, so Ed Peletier, a known shit stirrer who has a thing for you and hates me told you I hooked up with another girl and you just what, took his word for it?"

She stared at him a little dumbfounded, last night her head had been a wreck. The alcohol in her system had somewhat lowered her control over her emotions and she was already devastated from her fight with him, she was gullible enough to believe that in his own drunken turmoil maybe Daryl had needed to blow of some steam elsewhere. She couldn't even blame him, like she said to Merle it's not as if they were really a couple, he wouldn't have been doing anything wrong if he had. But now that he had spelled it out to her like that she felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

"So you didn't?" She asked shakily, the hope evident in her voice.

"No!" He threw his hands up in the air as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

She let go of the breath she had been holding and covered her face with her arms, this time the fresh wave of tears managed to take over, her whole body shaking as she sobbed once more except this time it wasn't with sadness, it was relief.

"I'm sorry Daryl. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried. "Not just for last night but for everything. You were right and I fucking hate myself for what I did to you, I'm a terrible friend. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you but please just know that I love you. I love you so so much and I don't want to be without you in my life again."

He closed the gap between them and nudged her forward slightly on the step so he could sit behind her. He leant against the bannister and pulled her back so she was settled against his chest.

"Shhhh," He soothed, nuzzling her crown as she continued to sniffle through her tears, pressing soft kisses against her temple every now and then. He waited until she was calm and her body had stopped trembling before he continued to speak.

"I love you too," he whispered next to her ear. "I wanna be with you and not just as friends but there's some things we really gotta work on alright?"

She nodded in agreement and turned to look into his gorgeous eyes, he brought one of his hands up to push aside the curls that had stuck to her damp face, his calloused fingers lingering to trace the smooth skin of her jaw. He held her in place as he leaned forward to press his lips to hers, tasting the salt left from her tears. He kept his hand where it was, his thumb brushing back and forth across his cheek in soothing motions as he kissed her. It was tender and sweet, everything they needed right now. He stayed with her all morning, holding her tightly to him. They had eventually moved inside once their bodies felt numb from sitting on the step too long. She had led him up to her bedroom and climbed under the covers with him, curling into his side and burying her face into his neck, breathing him in. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could and let her drift into a much needed slumber, the comforting sound of his steady heartbeat beneath her ear replacing the sickness in her stomach with an army of butterflies.

 _ ***I'm thinking there may only be one more chapter left after this one. Thank you again to everyone who has followed this and left reviews, it really does mean a lot! Xx***_


	11. Chapter 11

Things had been going well for them over the last month, Daryl had been making an effort to spend time with her friends, spending every lunch with her and occasionally joining them when they got together outside of school. His attempts at conversation were pretty much non-existent at the start but Carol didn't mind, she was just happy he was with her. He had started to slowly open up more with certain members of the group, Tara and Michonne never seemed put off by how reserved he was, Carol was their best friend and they were determined to get to know the boy she was in love with no matter how difficult he was to crack. She noticed he had struck up a bit of a friendship with Rick, other than herself he seemed like the person he was most comfortable talking to.

He was currently packing for a weekend camping trip they had invited him on, apparently it was an annual thing. He had been wary of going when Carol had suggested it but she had reassured him they would be surrounded by woods, if he needed some space to breath he would be able to disappear alone for a while. He was in the kitchen with Merle sorting out some food for the drive there.

"So you think tonight'll be the night?" Merle asked cocking his eyebrow, a grin formed on his face.

"What?" Daryl asked uninterested.

"Ya know! The two of ya in the wilderness, snuggled around a campfire, lil bit a alcohol flowin' through your veins, pretty romantic, perfect setting for a bit a screwin' around."

Daryl stopped what he was doing to stare at him blankly.

"You might finally getcha dick wet!"

"What makes you think I haven't already?" Daryl asked.

Merle let out a gruff laugh. "C'mon brother you can't hide anythin' from me, I can read ya like a book."

"Whatever," Daryl scoffed.

"So ya want some tips?"

"Fuck off I know what I'm doin'!" He snapped.

"This ain't one a them skanks from the club baby brother, this is the girl you've been in love with since you was walkin'. No room to be selfish here, ya gotta take ya time, make sure she's feelin' real good too."

"Exactly," Daryl smirked. "So why would I take advice from you?"

Merle picked up an orange from the fruit bowl in front of him and proceeded to launch it at Daryl who just managed to dodge it. Their argument was brought to an end when Delilah entered the room.

"Little shit," Merle grumbled playfully under his breath earning a snort from Daryl.

Delilah walked straight up to Daryl and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly from behind.

"I'm gonna miss you so much baby," she murmured into his back.

"It's two days mom," Daryl said threw a mouth full of food.

"I know, I know, but I've never had either you go away before, I'm allowed to worry," she grabbed his face to plant a big kiss on the side of his cheek. "You promise you'll call each night?"

"I dunno ma, we're kinda in the middle a nowhere, I might not have service," he shrugged, watching as her brow furrowed in concern. "But I promise I'll try," he added, which seemed to satisfy her a little more.

Looking at the clock on the kitchen wall he gathered everything he had prepared in his arms.

"Gotta finish packing, gonna be late," he complained making his way up the stairs.

"He'll be fine," Merle reassured their mother seeing the slight concern still etched into her features.

"I know," she sighed. "I should be happy, this'll be good for him."

He actually had to admit he was rather enjoying himself. They had arrived mid afternoon and set up up their tents before spending the remainder of the afternoon hiking through the woods, after that they had eaten around a campfire and now everyone had seemed to split off into their own little groups. Daryl was content sat by the fire, Carol between his legs with her back against his chest, a large blanket wrapped around his shoulders cocooning them both in warmth. Some people had already decided to call it a night, they had to be up early but a few still remained scattered around the campsite.

"Thank you for being here with me," Carol said turning her head slightly to look at him, her palm coming up to caress the side of his face. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and squeezed her tightly round the waist.

"S'nothing, I'm glad to be here," he said sincerely.

For a split second she looked dubious but she could see in his eyes he was telling the truth, he had come such a long way from the boy he was a few months ago. He was also happy to get away from home for a few days, he loved his mother and brother dearly but their constant questions were driving him crazy. Delilah was always asking how things were going, she just really wanted this to work out, she had never seen her son happier than he was right now and that made her equally as happy. Merle was just being Merle, he did it because he knew he was winding him up. He did have a point earlier though, this was pretty romantic.

Carol pulled his face closer until their lips met in a soft yet eager kiss. He continued to trail his lips along her jaw, slow wet kisses that sent a delicious shiver coursing down her spine.

"Mmmm," She hummed appreciatively, turning her head to give him better access. He nibbled on her earlobe before continuing down the side of her neck, sucking a little harder on the skin there she couldn't stop the breathy moan escaping past her lips. His hands wandered from where they were clasped around her stomach down towards her open thighs, his fingers tracing feather light patterns across the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, he was seriously turning her on. She grabbed the edges of the blanket and pulled it tighter around them, attempting to hide their actions from anyone that may glance their way.

He huffed a silent laugh and latched onto the exposed skin of her shoulder, biting lightly before soothing it over with his tongue. She pushed back into his groin and rolled her hips, a gruff moan rumbled deep in his throat. His fingers moved higher and higher with each stroke until he could feel the edges of her underwear beneath her shorts. Her whole body was tingling from the fire awoken by his touch only fuelled further by the feel of his own arousal pressing into her lower back.

"Tent. Now," She panted, her hands covering his to still his ministrations on her thighs.

They wasted no time shedding the blanket and making their way hastily to their tent. The remaining sets of eyes following as they scarpered across camp.

"They're totally about to do it," stated Glenn.

"Totally," Maggie agreed laughing.

Daryl practically dived on top of her the second the zip on the tent was closed, his lips crashing to hers with intensity. She lay back and pulled him so he was settled between her legs. She teased his demanding lips with the tip of her tongue and he eagerly granted her access desperate to taste her. He was resting his weight on his forearms either side of her head, his fingers tangled in her curls gently caressing her scalp. Her hands found purchase on his back, her fingers mimicking the dizzying patterns he was tracing on her moments before. They let themselves get lost in each other, consumed by the raw lust rippling through their veins, hips grinding together at a steady yet maddening pace. Her hands travelled lower into the back pockets of his jeans, gripping his ass in an attempt to bring him closer.

They broke apart breathless when her fingers brushed the small foil packaging in his pockets, she pulled it out and grinned as she held the condom up between them.

"Hmmm, you came prepared," she teased.

He stared in confusion for a moment before realising where it had come from.

"Merle," he sighed, lowering his head to hide his face in her neck.

"Well…" She mused twirling the wrapper round between her fingers. "We wouldn't wanna disappoint now would we."

His head shot back up to look into her face. "Really? Was worried you'd think I was a presumptuous asshole or somethin'"

"No," she laughed pulling his face close to hers again. "I came prepared too."

"Ya did?" He asked surprised, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.

"Mhm," She hummed biting her lower lip, "In my bag."

He was grateful that Carol and Merle had thought ahead because it honestly hadn't crossed his mind, even after Merle's jokes that morning he hadn't expected anything to actually happen. But this moment felt perfect, he couldn't imagine having to stop this now. He lowered his lips to hers again, this time with less urgency, it was long and tender, pouring everything they felt for each other into the kiss.

She dragged his shirt slowly up his torso, her fingers skimming across his warm skin leaving a trail of goosebumps their wake, their lips separating for a split moment to allow her to fully dispose of his shirt. Next it was his turn, running his hands up her stomach he revelled in the feel of her soft smooth skin, she squirmed underneath him as he reached her ticklish ribcage, giggling into his mouth as he continued to torment her. Her face went serious again when his hands moved up to the cups of her lacy bra, palming her breasts through the material. She tipped her head back and whimpered, her hips grinding up desperate to feel that friction again. He removed her shirt and also made quick work of her bra and shorts, she lay before him in just a matching pair of lace panties. His lips dragged a hot trail down the valley between her breasts, before taking one of the firm peaks in his mouth sucking gently.

She groaned again, her back arching into him encouraging him to keep going. He released her with a wet pop before continuing his journey down her body. He shifted himself down and pushed her thighs further open, he turned his attention back to her inner thighs knowing how sensitive she was there, knowing he could drive her crazy. He nipped and licked at the delicate skin, delighted to watch her writhe and tremble under his tongue. He could smell her arousal now, see the wet patch that had formed on the material of her underwear. Experimentally he nudged his nose to her centre, dragging it up the wetness until he reached her little bundle of nerves, he sucked the nub lightly before grazing over it with his teeth. Her hand flew into his shaggy hair, a much louder moan escaping her throat this time. She tugged on his hair, a silent beg for him to make his way back up her body.

"Now," she pleaded. "I want you now."

In her flustered state she clumsily unbuckled his belt before frantically ripping his jeans down his thighs. He chuckled as he leaned back to help her get them the rest of the way down his legs. She wasted no time hooking her fingers into the waistband of his plain black boxers and yanking them off too, his impressive erection springing free. She wrapped her fist around his length giving him a few steady strokes for good measure. His eyes fluttered closed and his breathing faltered as he finally got some of the relief his body had been screaming for. She loved the way he felt in her palm, all warm and heavy and pulsing with longing, she couldn't wait to feel him inside her.

She thrust the condom towards him urging him to put it on as she quickly removed her own underwear, as she waited for him her fingers wandered down to her wetness, playing with the slick folds she smiled up at him lovingly. His jaw dropped as he took in the sight before him. The girl of his dreams lay before him completely bare, touching herself in anticipation as she waited for him to make love to her. He thought about pinching himself to check he wasn't really dreaming.

He tore open the wrapper between his teeth and rolled the condom on before crawling his way back up her body. He kissed her once before resting his sweaty forehead to hers. His heart was racing a million miles a minute, his arms trembled where he was trying to hold his weight up, he felt like a virgin again. He didn't even feel this wound up when he actually lost his virginity, he hadn't been nervous, hadn't really thought that much about it, was just curious what all the fuss Merle made was about. But this, this mattered, she may not be his first but he was certain she would be his last.

She reached down and positioned him to her entrance.

"Ready?" She breathed.

He nodded, his brow still pressed to hers and proceeded to slide himself inside her with one strong thrust of his hips. They gasped sharply in unison as he buried himself to the hilt, her hands instantly cradling his face. He gave her body a moment to adjust to the size of him before starting to pump his hips in a steady rhythm, another whimper escaped her as she tried to wrap her head around perfect this felt.

"Fuck" she whispered, she voice so shaky she barely recognised it.

"I know," he responded equally as strained.

His lips sought out hers again and he gave himself over to her, tongues gliding together they picked up the pace of their rocking hips. He pulled away to bury his face in the crook of her neck, his short panting breaths fanning out across the sweat dampened skin causing her to shiver. She snaked one of her hands between their bodies to rub almost aimless circles over her clit, being so wet and pressed so tightly together made it difficult to focus on the one spot.

He felt himself getting close already, trying to focus on getting her there first he drove his hips forward more forcefully, repeating the motion when he hit a spot that had her eyes rolling into the back of her head. He was driving her crazy, she had never known anything could possibly feel this good. She could feel every inch of his throbbing dick dragging along her walls so perfectly with every thrust. White heat coiled at the base of her spine and she began to feel herself clench around him.

"Daryl, Daryl, Daryl," she mewled, holding his gaze as she came crashing over the edge. Her head fell to his broad shoulder, her teeth sinking into his golden flesh to try and stifle the scream that threatened to tear from her throat. He kept pushing himself to keep going until he was sure she had come down from her high but he was so fucking close. He muffled his own cry into her neck as his whole body went rigid, spilling his release as he continued to snap his hips weakly.

They breathed raggedly as they basked in the bliss of their orgasms, a tingling sensation running through out their entire bodies. He lifted his heavy head to rest back against her forehead, a sleepy smile spread across both of their features.

"So in love with you," he breathed lazily, his fingers tangling back in her curls to play with some pose strands of hair.

"Me too," She breathed back, her fingers running up and down his spine.

He felt like he was crushing her but he couldn't bring himself to move just yet. He shifted only slightly, enough for him to pull himself out of her and lay his head on her chest. They stayed there for a while and he listened as her heart rate returned to normal speed, he noticed that her breathing had evened out too. Glancing up at her he noticed she had nodded off into a peaceful looking sleep. Moving gently not wanting to wake her he sat up to discard of the condom and pull over the blanket to cover her. He watched her sleeping face and wondered what he could've possibly done to get so lucky. He knew that as long as her had her there by his side there was nothing he couldn't do.

 _ ***So this was supposed to be the last chapter of this but I have decided to leave it as incomplete for now. I have had so much fun writing this that I really want to carry it on, I just feel like I need s break to figure out where I'm going to go with it. So for now I'm going to focus on some prompts and come back to this after Christmas maybe. (Unless I have an idea before then) Thank you to everyone that has followed or reviewed this story, it really does mean so much to know you've enjoyed it too and I love you all xxx***_


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